The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has topped the box office for the second consecutive weekend.

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth will spend Christmas as the UK's number one movie after holding off competition from Ang Lee's Life of Pi.

The Hobbit earns £5.9 million from its 601 nationwide locations against Life of Pi's £3.6 million haul. Rise of the Guardians and Nativity 2 both drop a place from last week's placings to occupy the number three and four spots respectively.

Pitch Perfect, the musical comedy starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, debuts at number five with £952,107.

Skyfall falls down two places to number six, passing the £99 million mark on its ninth week on release. The latest James Bond outing is expected to be the first film to pass £100 million in the UK in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere, Bollywood release Dabangg 2 pulls in £341,619 to land at number eight.